


the comfort of knowing (you're never alone)

by LiveLaughLovex



Category: The Code (TV 2019)
Genre: Gen, Post-Episode: s01e11 Don and Duff, Season/Series 01 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 10:26:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19828222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: "Harper told me when she asked me to take this on that, if it comes down to it, she will happily let this be the hill her career dies on. She was right. There are worse ways for things to end.”Maya and Abe discuss his Article 94 case after her return from New York City.





	the comfort of knowing (you're never alone)

**Author's Note:**

> Friendship is the comfort of knowing, even when you feel alone, that you aren't. - Unknown

“I hate to say it, Captain Abraham, but you look like _crap_.”

Abe glanced up from his hands at the sound of Maya’s voice, meeting her eyes for just a moment and then looking away. “What’re you doing here, Dobbins?” he muttered roughly. “You shouldn’t be here. You should be with your brother.”

“My brother’s _fine_ ,” Maya assured him, pulling out the chair across from him. “And I guarantee you that he’s glad to be rid of me. He’s said more than once that I hover more than even our mother did.” She sat down carefully, folding her hands atop the table once she was settled. “You should’ve called.”

“You were dealing with your own thing,” Abe protested. “And even if you weren’t – I’ve worried enough people already. Didn’t really see the point in adding your name to the list.”

Maya shook her head incredulously. “The point of _adding my name to the list_ , Abe, is that I’m a defense lawyer. Probably the best you’ve ever been up against, even though you’ll never admit it. Also, I’d like to think that we’re friends. When you get apprehended by NCIS in the middle of the bullpen, that’s the sort of thing you tell your friend.”

“Who told you?” Abe asked resignedly. “Was it Harper?”

“No, actually, it was Rami,” Maya informed him. “Though Harper was the one who came to ask that I be the one to represent you. She’s ready to throw down for you, by the way. I’m honestly a little scared for whoever it was that brought these charges against you.”

“I know she is,” Abe sighed. “And I appreciate the loyalty, but there are times when it’s unfounded.”

“You aren’t honestly implying _this_ is a time when it’s unfounded?” Maya’s eyes widened with disbelief when he simply shrugged. “They are going after your _freedom_ here, John.”

“Yeah, they are,” Abe agreed grimly. “But they’re not lying. I did what they’re saying I did.”

“They’re accusing you of an Article 94. That’s mutiny and sedition,” Maya reminded him. “If that’s true, then you must’ve – you refused to obey an order? You staged a coup? _What_ , Abe? What did you do?”

“I refused to obey an order,” he revealed. “And somebody died. They can’t prove it was a direct result of my actions, that’s why they’re not going after me for negligent homicide, but… I _did_ what they’re saying I did, Maya.”

“I’ve known you long enough now to know that if what you’re saying is _true_ , there’s no way any judge in the Corps could punish you in worse ways than you’ve punished yourself. That being said, I didn’t hear a _word_ that just came out of your mouth.” Maya shrugged when Abe’s eyes shot to hers. “I’m not going to stand by and let you fall on your sword here, Abe. It doesn’t matter what you did or why you did it. Nine years ago, they didn’t consider it a prosecutable offense. The only reason their stance has changed is the Feres Doctrine case.”

“It doesn’t matter why their stance has changed!” Abe burst out, lowering his voice a moment later. “All that matters is that a man is dead, and I am partially responsible for his death.”

“Abe, we’re Marines,” Maya pointed out quietly. “We fight in wars. Like it or not, we’re – we’ve all been responsible for more than a single death over the years.”

“Yeah, but this is different,” Abe insisted. “This was my _friend_.”

“And you’re _my_ friend,” Maya returned, her tone wavering slightly. “I can’t stand by and let you sign your death warrant for the wrong reasons.”

“They’re not going to hand down the death penalty for mutiny, Maya,” he told her.

Maya smiled humorlessly. “You’re right. They won’t. But I know what being a Marine means to you. You were born to serve. Taking that away from you – it would be the same thing.”

“I’ll be fine,” he promised her, though he didn’t sound any surer of that than she was.

“Yeah, you will be,” Maya agreed. “Because they’re not taking the Corps away from you. We’re going to fight this, and we’re going to beat it.”

“Why does this matter so much to all of you?” Abe asked. “Rami, Harper, Trey, you – hell, even Colonel Turnbull’s told me she’s rooting for me, and I don’t think she’s technically allowed to take sides here.”

“It matters because you’re acting like you’re _alone_. You’re acting like you’re all by yourself, and you haven’t been, not for a long time. You’ve got Harper, and Rami, and Trey. You’ve got _me_. I know we’re not the most conventional family. We have our faults. But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re still family. You should know by now that I don’t turn my back on family.”

“This could destroy your career,” he warned her, though the hollowness of his tone suggested he knew that wouldn’t be enough to convince her to walk away.

“Eh.” Maya shrugged halfheartedly. “Who cares? According to Tiffany Dixon-Green, I have got a _great_ future in politics just waiting for me. If things go downhill, I can get to it sooner than I thought I would.”

“What if it was someone else sitting on this side of the table?” he questioned. “Would you be this sure then?”

“No, I can’t say I would be,” Maya admitted. “But that doesn’t matter, because it’s not someone else sitting there. It’s _you_. Harper told me when she asked me to take this on that, if it comes down to it, she will happily let this be the hill her career dies on. She was right. There are worse ways for things to end.”

“I meant what I said earlier,” he informed her, though there was no fight left in his tone. “There’s such a thing as being too loyal.”

“And I meant what I said earlier, too,” she replied, reaching into her bag and removing his file. “That isn’t what’s happening here. So.” She opened it, sliding it across to him with a comforting smile. “Let’s get to work, why don’t we?”

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve got to be honest here: I have no idea if Marines are kept in the brig prior to court martials the way civilians are kept in jail prior to their trials. I skimmed at least three articles on the subject and never got a straight answer. But, you know, it’s fiction. So, for the purpose of this story, let’s just pretend they are. If I'm completely inaccurate, let's just blame the woman who wrote the main article I skimmed, okay?


End file.
